Skip to content ↓

Whole Trust Writing Moderation 06.06.24

By Trevor Goakes, Executive Deputy Headteacher

On Wednesday 5th June 2024, teachers from the three schools within OWN trust came together to complete writing moderation. The session was hosted at Woodston Primary School and created by Rachel Tansley and Alex Garner (English Leads at Orton Wistow Primary School and Woodston Primary School). Alex presented the joint staff meeting, explaining the rationale behind it and what we hoped to get out of the session.

Teachers started the session by identifying areas in writing within their year groups that children need to develop. Teachers added their thoughts to post-it notes, which were collated and displayed for each school. From this, the English Leads will look at their school's needs, with Alex Garner identifying any trust similarities.

The teachers then split up into year groups to moderate books in teams. Each school had brought a selection of books in which children were working towards the next assessment grade. This included, for example, a child who was working just below age-related expectations. The teams looked at questions like:

  • How close are they to working at age-related expectations? 
  • How do the schools' books compare?
  • Does a Year 3 writing book at one school look the same as a Year 3 writing book at another school? 

All schools used the same assessment criteria to moderate their books. 

The session provided lots of great professional discussions and generated effective ways to ensure all children at OWN Trust make the best progress in writing.